Pico Hotel, Restaurant, and Stores - 1887209 North Oak Avenue -
200 North Park Avenue
Built as a hotel in 1887 for Henry B. Plant, President of the Plant Investment Co.
(PICO), this building served as a terminal hotel for the railroads and river
steamboats that served Sanford. The architect was W.T. Cotter of Sanford (designer
of the Cathedral of St. Augustine) and the builder was H.M. Papworth Construction
Co. (Papworth was also Sanford's Fire Chief). The Turkish style resembles Plant's
Tampa Bay Hotel. An onion dome originally topped the corner tower and a striped
metal awning surrounded the first floor. For many years Bertha Takash ran a
restaurant in the hotel. The brick building next door was also built by Mr. Plant in
1887 as additional retail space.